Megan Mulholland

Megan Mulholland is a new entrant farmer from South Africa, now based in North Yorkshire. She fell into agriculture eight years ago when she started working for her current employer in a separate capacity and help was needed on the farm as it expanded. Megan loved getting more involved and was frequently asking questions about the reasoning behind certain agricultural practices that were very different to what she’d grown up witnessing.

In South Africa, Megan worked for a very forward-thinking woman who'd studied under Allan Savoury and her tendency to ask questions and understand reasoning rubbed off. These questions — coupled with getting the team to read Dirt to Soil — started a shift in systems on Megan’s farm and slowly over the last six years, they have become braver and made bigger system changes to benefit both their livestock and staff, but also the environment and nature.

So far they have managed to cut out feed and fertiliser and reduce the amount of time livestock spend housed over winter. Sheep and 50% of the cattle are now lambed and calved outside, and they generally have a happy team that is able to take all their annual leave. The knowledge they have acquired and the changes they have been able to make have totally changed the direction and profitability of the business.